A Compendium of the Enforcement and Antipiracy Activities Carried Out by the Nigerian Copyright Commission within the 1st Quarter (January-March) of the year 2016

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THIRTY-FIVE (35) suspected pirates were arrested and Forty-eight Thousand, Two Hundred and Seven Hundred (48,207) units of suspected pirated literary, musical, software and broadcast gadgets estimated at Thirty-nine Million, Twenty Thousand, Three Hundred Naira (N39, 020, 300) were confiscated by Officers of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) within the first quarter of the year 2016.

Following twenty-two (22) surveillances and investigations carried out, thirteen (13) strategic anti-piracy operations were carried out in Twelve (12) states across the country, between January and March 2016.

Meanwhile the Commission within the period under review publicly destroyed by burning, Seventeen Million, Two Hundred and Sixty-six Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty- Seven (17, 266, 187) units of various categories of copyright infringing products estimated at Two Billion, Four Hundred Million Naira (N2.4 billion).

Director-General of the Commission, Mr. Afam Ezekude who disclosed this at the Head quarters in Abuja noted that the impounded items represent income that would have been diverted from legitimate rights owners and taxable income and revenue that would have been lost to the Federal Government.

Giving a further breakdown of the period under review, the DG explained that within the month of January, Three (3) antipiracy operations were carried out, resulting in the seizures of Twenty-nine Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-five (29,445) suspected infringing items valued at Three Million, One Hundred and Twenty Thousand, Three Hundred Naira (N3, 120, 300) and the arrest of three suspected pirates in Kwara and Oyo states.

He said in February 2016, Officers of the Commission carried out an operation in Adamawa State, arrested six (6) suspected pirates with Two Hundred and Twenty-one (221) suspected copyright works estimated at One Million (1, 000, 000) Naira.

According to him, within the month of March, nine (9) antipiracy operations were carried out, resulting in the arrest of Twenty-six suspects (26) and seizures of Eighteen Thousand, Five Hundred and Forty-one (18,541) suspected pirated works valued at Thirty-four Million, Nine Hundred, Thousand Naira, in Twelve States including Enugu, Edo, Alaba-Lagos, Oyo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Kaduna and Abia States.

NOTE: Below is a tabular representation of the Enforcement/antipiracy operations carried out by NCC within the first quarter of the year 2016 (January-March).